The impact on employees

[ch 1: pages 11-12]

The HSE says that while physical attacks are “obviously dangerous”, serious or persistent verbal abuse can also damage employees’ health. The TUC points out that the psychological effects can sometimes be more damaging than the injuries.

The TUC lists the effect of psychological abuse as including:

• stress;

• post-traumatic stress disorder;

• depression, anxiety;

• fear of work;

• tension;

• irritability;

• insomnia;

• loss of confidence;

• agoraphobia; and

• thoughts of self-harm and guilt.

It says that these effects can also lead to physical symptoms such as alopecia, asthma, eczema, enuresis and psoriasis, with adverse effects on social relationships and ability to continue working.

Academic research backs this up. For example, Work related violence and threats and the risk of depression and stress disorders by Joanna Wieclaw and others, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, suggests that workers subjected to real or threatened violence at work run a major risk of becoming clinically depressed or suffering other stress related disorders. The research found the risk was directly proportional to the amount of workplace violence experienced. The study of Danish hospital patients found that exposure to violence boosted the risk of depression by 45% in women and 48% in men, compared with those in workplaces without any risk of violence. Threatening behaviour boosted the likelihood of depression by 48% in women and stress related disorders by almost 60% in men.